Identification card and method of making

ABSTRACT

A combined business form/identification card includes a sheet of cellulosic stock material having a barrier coating on a first portion of the sheet with an overlay of laser-printable varnish on the barrier coat. Lines of weakness are provided in the sheet in the area of the barrier coat and varnish to produce an identification card detachable from the sheet. A second portion of the sheet has indicia imaged thereon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently, there are a number of identification card (ID) productsavailable in the marketplace. These constructions have included the blowon or tip on of a plastic card onto a sheet which is then passed througha dot matrix printer. When attempting to laser print these cards, thecard may peel off the sheet and become jammed in the printer. Withtoday's high speed printers, this type of construction, with the cardsuperimposed on the surface of the sheet creates a stacking problem inthe feed tray, in that if a large number of these sheets are stacked ina tray they have a tendency to fall over or create an uneven stack dueto the uneven surface area of the cards. In order to avoid the stackingproblems, fewer sheets are placed in the feed tray which then requiresconstant operator involvement to continue placing sheets in the feedtray.

Another solution which has been proposed and in an effort to eliminatethe uneven surface area has been to create a multiple part constructionin which a window is created in the substrate and the card is insertedinto the window. While this does away with the problems associated withstacking, there are increased costs related to the construction due tomultiple parts which must be assembled. In addition, due to theincreased thickness of the product, the amount of products which can bestacked in a tray for a laser printer is limited, again requiring theoperator to maintain a constant interaction with the printer.

A still further prior art embodiment which has been adapted to correctthe foregoing problems has been the creation a single sheet which isthen laminated with a plastic film to create a card area. In thisconstruction, a sheet is provided, to which an adhesive is applied andthen a plastic film is laid over the adhesive. In order to reduce thethickness of the sheet in the area of the lamination, the plastic filmor area of the paper having the lamination is calendared or compressedto reduce the overall signature of the sheet. However, this constructionalso encounters difficulties, such as curling due to exposure of theplastic film to the heat of the laser printer, delamination of the filmwhen the stock is stored too long, and generally conventional plasticfilms may not accept toner readily from a laser printer. In addition,the cost of such constructions are expensive in that they require notonly the paper substrate but also plastic films and laminatingequipment. Thus, there is still a need for a cost effective constructionwhich eliminates the foregoing problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cost effective business form (e.g.letter or other sheet)/ID card combination. A sheet of paper, rangingfrom 31 to 52 pound per 1,000 11"×17" sheet bond ream, with 38 poundbeing preferred, and having a caliper in the range from between 6 mil to10 mil paper. The paper is selected depending on the requirements of theparticular application and is taken and coated on one or both sides witha barrier coating. Over the barrier coating is then applied a laserprintable varnish layer which provides a glossy surface for the ID cardas well as a receptive surface for the laser printer. The barriercoating is used to reduce the amount of varnish which is needed tocreate a sufficient thickness for the ID card. The barrier coating mayalso prevent the varnish from sinking into the paper substrate. Inaddition, the varnish by itself without the barrier coat may not besufficiently glossy since the barrier coating serves to hold the varnishon the top. The varnish and barrier coats are available from Rad-Cure ofFairfield, N.J. and marketed under the names Rad-Cure, Rad-Kote® orRaqua-Bond. Other varnishes are available from QureTech of Seabrook,N.H.

While a barrier coat is suggested in the above embodiment, it should beunderstood that where the need for a barrier coat is not present laserprintable varnishes can be applied directly to the paper substrateswithout the necessity of the barrier layer.

The preferable barrier coat is Raqua-bond EG 100 and the preferred U.V.varnish being 107 BLP. Other barrier coatings have been tested such asNorthwest Coatings 20951 and Raqua-Bond WBA5524. The barrier coat mainconstituent is typically polyvinyl alcohol with minor additions ofammonium hydroxide and triethylamine. The U.V. varnish may includeacrylate monomers and oligimers with a photo-initiator blend andsurfactants. Likewise other UV curable varnishes include 106 BLP and 106LPLO.

The thickness of the composite (barrier coat and varnish) coating rangesfrom 0.1 to 0.5 millimeters with about 0.25 being the preferredthickness. Coating weights range from 2.5 to 12.5 gm/sq.m. To producethe ID cards, die cuts are created in the area of the coating to produceone or more detachable cards. If necessary, and depending on thethickness of the coatings, the sheet, either before or after coating canbe passed through calendering rolls to compress the thickness of thecoating. Alternatively, the sheet can be calendared after the barriercoating is applied and before the U.V. varnish is applied. The coatedareas of the sheet then may either be die cut to create the ID cards oralternatively, perfed or microperforated. In either instance, some tiesremain to hold the card in position with the sheet stock.

The sheetstock may be strip coated with the barrier coat or the entiresheet can be flood coated and then printed in the area of the coating.Next, the sheet with the barrier coating is overcoated with a varnishwhich can then be further printed.

A further embodiment of the present invention relates to a costeffective sheet/ID card combination in which the card portion is createdseparately and then adhered or otherwise affixed to a paper sheet orbusiness form. There are at least two mechanisms by which to accomplishthis objective. The first method of creating the card structure is tofully coat a sheet of paper with the barrier coating and varnish as setforth above. This sheet is then slit or cut into strips of theappropriate width to accommodate a die cutting operation. The secondmethod includes a card laminate which is created by laminating twoplastic sheets together with a cellulosic substrate therebetween. Thiscan be done in full sheet configurations and then the laminated sheet issplit or cut to create individual card units. The cellulosic substratecan contain printing such as logos of the customer, the recipients nameand the like. The lamination can be accomplished either through heat andpressure or alternatively, an adhesive is used so as to bind the sheetstogether. By producing cards in bulk economies of scale can be realized.

In either instance, the card stock or card laminate ("card stock")should ideally be manufactured to be roughly the same thickness as thesheet stock to which it is to be attached. The card stock is attached tothe bond sheet by any suitable or known technique, preferably by a stripof adhesive tape and then the area of the adhesive is compressed (e.g.by passing between compressing rolls)so as eliminate as much as possibleany ridge in the construction. A further method of attaching the cardstock is to apply a line of pressure sensitive adhesive to the papersheet to which the card stock is to be applied and then lay the cardstock over the adhesive and compress the sheet/card stock together inthe area of the adhesive. The adhesive tape or strip in each instanceshould be a permanent adhesive to prevent the premature release of thecard stock from the paper substrate.

The card stock and sheet should have the dimensions of a normal sheet,such as 81/2×11, 11×17 or 81/2×14 depending on the particularapplication so that it can be processed through a laser printer.

Variable indicia may be printed on the face of the card, such as anintroductory letter to the recipient and the card and letter portion ofthe product can include matching indicia such as bar code and numericindicia.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an end view of a combined identification card and businessform according to the present invention with certain elements beingexaggerated for clarity of illustration;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a form of the present invention with ID cardsdefined by lines of weakness in the form for ease of removal;

FIG. 3 is a further embodiment of the form hereof;

FIG. 4 is a further embodiment of the form hereof with the formcomprised of discrete substrates forming a composite;

FIG. 5 illustrates a form laminated in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a form with the ID cards of FIG. 5 appliedthereto; and

FIGS. 7-11 illustrate various graphs plotting various parameters of theforms hereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an end view, with the thickness of the elements greatlyexaggerated for clarity of illustration, or a combined identificationcard and business form 10 according to the invention. A substantiallyrectangular sheet 11 of cellulose stock having a weight of between about31-52 pounds per ream, and a caliper of between about 6-10 mil, hasapplied to one face 12 thereof a barrier coating 13 (e. g. of a materialsuch as described above), with a laser printable varnish 15 (e. g. a UVcurable varnish such as those described above), which may be pigmented,(or the barrier coat may be pigmented) over the barrier coat 13. Thecomposite coating 13, 15 on the face 12 of the sheet 11 has a thicknessthat is between about 0.1-5 mm, preferably about 0.25 mm. and acomposite coating weight of between about 2.5-12.5 gm/sq.m. Indicia 16may be laser printed, or otherwise imaged, on the varnish 15. The sheet11 may be calendered either before or after the coatings 13, 15 havebeen applied. As shown in dotted line in FIG. 1, another barrier coat13' and varnish coat 15' may be applied to face 12', so that both faces12, 12' have ID cards thereon. The barrier coat 13 can be eliminatedwhere penetration of the sheet 11 with the varnish, and/or adhesive ofthe varnish to the sheet 11, is not a problem.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment in which the ID cards 20 have been formed inthe sheet 11 by lines of weakness 21. One or more (in FIG. 2 two beingshown) cards 20 may be formed in the sheet 11. The lines of weakness 21may be die cuts, perf lines, or microperfs. As seen in FIG. 2, in thisembodiment the coats 13, 15 cover less than half of the sheet 11, e. g.about 25% in the embodiment illustrated, and the rest of the sheet 11comprises a business form, such as a letter, with indicia 24, 25thereon.

FIG. 3 shows a cellulose sheet 111 that has been flood coated, orotherwise completely covered with barrier coat 13 and varnish 15, with aplurality of ID cards 20 formed by lines of weakness 21 therein. Thesheet 111 is then formed into cards 20 for application to another sheet,such as by slitting along lines 30 to form strips 31.

FIG. 4 shows a strip 31 being attached to a business form 32. Thisattachment may be by any conventional technique, such as overlapping thestrip 31 and form 32 and adhesively securing the overlapped portionstogether, by a splicing material, by mechanically deforming overlappingportions so that they interlock, etc. The preferred way--see in FIG.4--is to place a strip of (preferably clear) pressure sensitive adhesivetape 33 over the interface 34 between the in-line edges of the form 32and strip 31 (which are about the same thickness). The tape may beapplied to only one side or both sides of the interface. The compositemay then be passed through compression wells, or otherwise acted upon tominimize the ridge formed by the tape 33 or tapes. The tape 33 does notoverlap the lines of weakness 21.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which a cellulosic stock sheet 11 hasindicia 35 imaged on at least one face thereof, with plastic sheets 36,37 (which may be pigmented) laminated to both faces of the sheet 11, andattached by adhesive, or by application of heat and/or pressure. Theindividual cards 38 so formed (they may be cut from a large sheet or webcontaining numerous cards 38, or the cards 38 may be formedindividually) are then connected to a business form 40, such as seen inFIG. 6, wherein a card 38 is attached by adhesive 42 to the form 40having indicia 43 thereon. The adhesive 42 may be repositional adhesive,or may be permanent pressure sensitive adhesive, which will release fromthe plastic 37 of the card 38 more readily than from the paper businessform 40. A card 20 could be used instead of card 38.

The form/card combination of FIGS. 2, 4, or 5 may be inserted intoenvelopes or made into mailers, such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,093,296 or5,595,404, or processed in web form such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,427,416,5,403,236, and 4,846,501.

FIGS. 7-11 show various graphs for tests run to show the feasibility ofform/card combinations such as illustrated in FIG. 2, which graphs arelabeled to show the various parameters being plotted, and are selfexplanatory.

With respect to the preferred embodiment of FIG. 2 various sample runswere made, from which the data of FIGS. 7-11 was obtained. Rad-Cure'sRad-Kote 107B-LP applied with a 400 line screen anilox gave the bestlaser-imprintable coating. The glossiest surface was achieved with thetop coat 106-LPLO with a 200 anilox; however, this surface had poorertoner anchorage. A heavier coating of 107B-LP would yield a glossiercard, but also increase the risk of blocking and odor complaints. Toneranchorage and gloss were similar in blank areas and in a strip of blue(or other color) ink printed under the barrier coating layer.

The barrier coat was very significant in affecting results of gloss,continuity and some toner anchorage tests. There were three differencesbetween barrier coat I and II studied in this experiment, as explainedin Table 1.

Four variables were studied. Each variable was run at two levels. Thiswas not quite a full-factorial experiment because the treatment of inkon barrier coat II (AB) was not included.

                  TABLE 1    ______________________________________    Design of Sample Runs    Factor           Low Level   High Level    ______________________________________    Barrier coating  I           II    Ink, Arear AWB25-                     Off         On    2925    Anilox for UV varnish                     106-LPLO    107B-LP    top coating    ______________________________________

Barrier Coating I: Raqua-bond EG-100 applied with 85 ceramic anilox onthe outside of the roll of paper

Barrier Coating II: Raqua-bond WBA5524 applied with 95 chrome anilox onthe inside of the roll of paper.

Constants

Mead #38 Moistrite ledge paper, 7.1 mil caliper originally

Paper calendered from 0.8 to 1.1 mil caliper to allow room for coatings.

All coating material is contained within calendered area.

All UV coating run at 150 fpm press speed.

The process and operating conditions for the sample runs were:

Step 1) Calendered both sides of web on Midax® printing system (MooreUSA, Lake Forest, Ill.) at 1100 psi both heads over 25/8" width.Pressure provides compression for better holdout, better gloss, and lesschance for blocking and provides room for the coatings if necessary.Reduced caliper by 0.8-1.1 mils from 7.1 mils to 6.0-6.3 mils.

Step 2) Coat ink and both barrier coats in one pass on press.

a) On the "printing side out" of the web, print Arcar AWB25-2925 blueink (phase 25--wax free) with a 250 Harper anilox at 13/16" width.

b) Over ink, coat EG-100 barrier coat material with 85 anilox at 23/8"width.

c) Flip web over.

d) Back side, WBA5524 barrier with 95 chrome anilox at same 23/8" width.

Only 105 fpm was achieved because of the thickness of EG-100. Thiscoating also left a heavy ridge on the edge of the coating which pickedoff onto idler rolls in the press. Press ovens set at 240° F. Theviscosity of EG-100 should be reduced so that it can be applied with aclean edge.

Step 3) UV varnish coating on front side (106-LPLO & 107B-LP with 200and 400 anilox). Press speed 150-155 fpm with a single row of 600 W/inFusion UV-H bulbs.

Step 4) varnish coating on back side, same four combinations and pressconditions.

Responses evaluated in this experiment include toner anchorage, gloss,blocking, coating continuity, and pack lean. Average results are shownin Table 2 on the next page.

                                      TABLE 2    __________________________________________________________________________    QUALITY TESTING RESULTS AND RESPONSES        Blocking             Visual                   SEM  Toner Anchor                               Toner Anchor                                      Pack                                         Coating    YATES        Ambient             Appearance                   Continuity                        Tape test                               Lexmark test                                      Lean                                         Caliper                                             Gloss    __________________________________________________________________________    (1) some glossy                   OK   4      6.83      7.0 65.3    A   slight             mottled                   voids                        5      6.5    0.34   45.4    B   some glossy                   OK   3      7         7.0 65.2    C   slight             glossy                   thin 3.5    5.67      6.8 39.3    AC  none mottled                   voids                        4.5    7      1.3    28.2    BC  slight             glossy                   thin 3      5.83      7.0 39.8    D   slight             glossy                   OK   1      7.17      6.8 61.9    AD  slight             mottled                   voids                        3      7.5    0.21   42.4    BD  slight             glossy                   OK   1      7.5       6.9 63.2    CD  slight             glossy                   thin 1      7.33      6.8 46.7    ACD none mottled                   voids                        2      7.5    0.67   31.0    BCD slight             glossy                   thin 1      7.67      6.9 47.7    __________________________________________________________________________    PRESS TEST CONDITIONS    YATES         Anilox for Barrier                    Blue Ink                           Anilox for UV Varnish                                        UV Varnish    __________________________________________________________________________    (1)  I          off    200          106LPLO    A    II         off    200          106LPLO    B    I          on     200          106LPLO    C    I          off    400          106LPLO    AC   II         off    400          106LPLO    BC   I          on     400          106LPLO    D    I          off    200          107BLP    AD   II         off    200          107BLP    BD   I          on     200          107BLP    CD   I          off    400          107BLP    ACD  II         off    400          107BLP    BCD  I          on     400          107BLP    __________________________________________________________________________     CONSTANTS     Mead 38# Moistrite ledger paper, 7.1 mil originally     Paper calendered from 0.8 to 1.1 mil caliper to allow room for coatings.     All coating is contained within calendered area.     All UV coating run at 150 fpm press speed.     Barrier coating I is Raquabond EG100 applied with 85 ceramic anilox     Barrier coating II is Raquabond WBA5524 applied with 95 chrome anilox

Toner Anchorage

This is the primary characteristic/requirement of the card. Anchoragewas measured both on the Lexmark scale and by the tape test. 107B-LPeasily outperformed 106-LPLO with an average Lexmark rating of 7.4 vs.6.3 out of 8. It was the most significant variable. The next mostsignificant treatment is the interaction between the UV coating andanilox (coat weight). 107B-LP showed slightly better anchorage at he lowcoat weight, but 106-LPLO got even worse at the low coat weight. Plotpoints and F-ratios are given below; graphs depicting these results areon the "Toner Charts" page. Although all samples met the minimum Lexmarkvalue of 5, only 107B-LP samples passed the tape test. 107B-LP sampleshad no or little toner pick-off on the tape (1-2 rating); whereas,106-LPLO samples showed moderate to heavy pick-off on the tape (3-5rating).

    ______________________________________    Low Level       High Level  F-Ratio    ______________________________________    106-LPLO = 6.3  107B-LP = 7.4                                113    UV Coating/Anilox           42    Interaction    200 anilox = 7.1                    400 anilox = 6.6                                24    No ink = 6.8    Ink = 7.0   6    ______________________________________

Gloss

Three readings of gloss were averaged for each sample using aStatistical Novogloss glossmeter at 75° beam angle. Both UV coatingswere similar in this test. The anilox cylinder and barrier coating werethe two most significant variables. Also two interactions weresignificant. The recommended combination of 107B-LP/400 anilox had a 47reading which is semi-glossy. The maximum reading of 65 was with106-LPLO and the 200 anilox. Average effects and F-ratios are tabulatedbelow. Effect and interaction graphs are on the "Gloss Charts" page.There is no minimum specification yet.

    ______________________________________    Low Level        High Level    F-Ratio    ______________________________________    200 anilox = 54  400 anilox = 36                                   864    Barrier I = 53   Barrier II = 37                                   778    UV Coating/Anilox              49    Interaction    Barrier Coat/UV Anilox         28    Interaction    106-LPLO = 45    107B-LP = 46  3    ______________________________________

Blocking

Blocking was tested at ambient conditions under 2.2 psi of weight. Thiswould be the approximate weight of forms in the printer tray. In mostcases there was a slight amount of sticking, but the sheets came apartcleanly with a gentle pull. No picking of the coating was seen. Theleast amount of blocking was seen on the back side coating because ofthe mottled surface and poor hold-out, but this would not berepresentative of our final product. Blocking can best be avoided, aswell as any odor, by minimizing the coat weight of UV varnish.

SEM Continuity/Visual Appearance

100X magnification of the surface by SEM reveals many details about thecoating continuity and smoothness. A huge difference was seen betweencoverage front to back over barrier coat I and II. On the front, therewas only an occasional small void; whereas, the back side showed largegaps in the coating between exposed paper fibers. The heavier coatweight put down with the 200 anilox was noticeable, but not quite asobvious. Continuity was comparable between both UV coatings and betweenprinted and non-printed areas.

Pack Lean/Caliper/Curl

Figures for pack lean reported in Table 2 are an extrapolated estimateof offset in a full printer tray--24" high stack, approximately 3300sheets. The maximum amount would be 1.3 inches, more than could betolerated by the customer's printers. The paper was calenderedsufficiently to allow room for all the coatings, which can be confirmedby a caliper in the coated areas of 6.8-7.0 mils compared to the paper'soriginal 7.1 mils thickness. In fact, much of the lean is caused by curlfrom drying the heavy aqueous barrier coat on the back side.

Conclusions

UV top coating: 107B-LP is a better choice for its superior toneranchorage. For both gloss and anchorage tests, it gave a more consistentresult at high and low coat weights. This will give us a more robustproduct. It also cures at a slightly faster line speed on press.

UV anilox roll: A 200 line anilox (8.7 BCM volume) applies a heaviercoating thickness than a 400 line (4.0 BCM volume) anilox--which was themost significant factor in achieving high gloss. There are fourbenefits, however, to using the smaller 400 anilox--lower odor, lessblocking, reduced raw material costs, and slightly higher toner adhesionwith the 107B-LP coating.

Ink: Printing the ink under the barrier coat has eliminated the problemof poor toner anchorage in the printed area. In this experiment it didnot have a significant effect on any result.

Barrier coat: Although barrier coat I gave good gloss, continuity andtoner anchorage results, the EG-100 liquid was too thick and itsviscosity should be reduced.

While the invention has been described in connection with what ispresently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment,it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thedisclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A business form, comprising:a substantiallyrectangular sheet of cellulose stock having a weight of between about31-52 pounds per ream, and a caliper of between about 6-10 mil; anidentification card forming part of said sheet; a barrier coat on afirst portion of said sheet at least as large as said identificationcard and overlying said identification card; a laser printable varnishover and in contact with the barrier coat and forming an outer exposedexternal surface of said identification card; a plurality of lines ofweakness in the sheet defining said identification card containing thebarrier coat and varnish, the lines of weakness allowing detachment ofthe card from the rest of the sheet; and a second portion of the sheetwith indicia imaged thereon.
 2. A business form according to claim 1wherein the first portion has an area less than 50% of the area of thesheet, the thickness of the barrier coat and varnish forming a compositecoating on the sheet being between about 0.1-0.5 mm, the coating havinga weight of between 2.5-12.5 gm/sq.m.
 3. A business form according toclaim 1 wherein the barrier coat has polyvinyl alcohol as a majorconstituent and the varnish is a U.V. curable varnish.
 4. A businessform according to claim 1 including indicia laser-imaged on saidlaser-printable varnish.
 5. A business form according to claim 1 whereinsaid varnish is pigmented to provide a colored identification card.
 6. Abusiness form according to claim 1 wherein the first portion has an arealess than 50% of the area of the sheet, the thickness of the barriercoat and varnish forming a composite coating on the sheet being betweenabout 0.1-0.5 mm, the coating having a weight of between 2.5-12.5gm/sq.m, the barrier coat having polyvinyl alcohol as a majorconstituent and the varnish is a U.V. curable varnish, including indicialaser-imaged on said laser-printable varnish, said varnish beingpigmented to provide a colored identification card.
 7. A business formaccording to claim 1 wherein said barrier coat and laser-printablevarnish are applied on one side of said sheet, a second barrier coat ona third portion of said sheet on an opposite side thereof at least aslarge as said identification card, a second laser-printable varnish overand in contact with said second barrier coat and forming an outersurface of said identification card on said opposite side thereof.